"Give a man a hammer," says Lori Feldman at The Database Diva blog, "and everything looks like a nail. Email marketing campaign software often has the same effect on novice email marketers. They forget how much they hate advertising mail when they start sending it out themselves."

It's a hazardous mindset—and one with which you might contend on a regular basis. So the next time you must explain, once again, that it's not a good idea to bombard your email list with random, ill-conceived messages, back up your argument by hitting "Play" on the amusing video highlighted at Feldman's post.

In it, two colleagues discuss an end-of-year email campaign. One tries to convince the other to follow best practices and operate within a comprehensive marketing plan.

The email novice isn't impressed by her arguments. He wants to advertise a $10,000 machine with an offer that expires this Friday—and he wants 72-point fonts, lots of exclamation marks and flashing red animation.

Nothing his knowledgeable colleague says can dissuade him. And as the conversation draws to a close, he concludes, "Okay, that's not what I wanted to hear. So I'm going to go send some emails demanding we do something right away. I probably won't copy you."

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